Alcoholics and drug addicts in treatment refer to themselves as “recovering” – not recovered – because it’s a lifelong process.

But the first year is vital.

William Cope Moyers has written a guide to get people through this period, titled “A New Day, a New Life: A Guided Journal” (Hazelden Publishing, $29.95).

The former CNN and Newsday reporter is in recovery, having plunged from alcohol to marijuana to crack before bottoming out in 1994. This new book follows his 2004 memoir, “Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption.”

“Treatment is where the journey starts, but for thousands of people like me, success requires daily commitment and effort,” he said.

Moyers, the son of TV broadcaster Bill Moyers, is an executive at Hazelden’s Center for Public Advocacy, part of the nationally known Minnesota treatment center.

The first year, he notes, sets the course for your new life. You have to create new life patterns and eliminate “triggers” – the people, places and things that could get you using again.

His book balances two schools of thought regarding addiction. First is what Moyers calls “addiction science.” For 10 percent of the population, drugs or alcohol “turns a switch on in your head that you can’t turn off,” he says, and no cure exists.

Second is the traditional 12-step approach, which goes back to 1935 and the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. Steps include admitting you are powerless to drugs or alcohol and creating relationships with others in recovery.

“Your whole life depends on not taking that drink or that hit,” he says. “The goal is to stay sober during each moment, until it becomes a habit.”